Chan Chun Sing on impact of Iswaran case on the Public Service

Individuals in the Public Service are expected to uphold high standards of conduct and this expectation extends to those carrying out functions on behalf of the Government, even if they are not directly employed by the Government. This is important to preserve the integrity of Singapore’s Public Service and to maintain public confidence and trust. Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing highlighted this point in reply to an MP’s questions in Parliament on Monday (Oct 14), in light of the case involving former minister S Iswaran. Mr Chan said accepting or obtaining gifts from a person whom the public servant knows to be concerned in business transacted by the public servant or having a connection with that public servant’s official functions is not acceptable in Singapore's context. Otherwise, public confidence in the impartiality and integrity of the Government would be undermined, he added. He said the Government reviews its laws regularly. Mr Chan pointed out that individuals from the private sector who are serving as chairpersons or board directors on statutory boards play an important role in building resilient and effective Public Service public sector organisations. “I do not think our rules will deter good people from joining our boards. On the contrary, if we do not have an ethos or system that ensures clean, honest government, we would not be able to attract the right people from the private sector to join us,” said Mr Chan. “I would also like to assure our chairpersons and board directors that if they act professionally and with integrity, they have nothing to fear,” he added. “The recent developments show that we do not shy away from doing the right thing to uphold the trust that Singaporeans have in the Government and this is what we will continue to do,” he said.